NFL

NFL CalendarBy Associated PressMarch 26-29 - Annual league meeting, Phoenix.April 21 - Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets.April 26 - Deadline for prior club to exercise right of first refusal to restricted free agents.April 27-29 - NFL draft, Philadelphia.May 22-24 - Spring owners meetings, Chicago.Aug. 3...

AP Legal Affairs WriterEx-NFL star Hernandez, serving life, acquitted in 2 slayingsBy DENISE LAVOIEBOSTON (AP) Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who is already serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder, was acquitted Friday in a 2012 double slaying prosecutors said was fueled by his anger over a spilled...

AP Sports WriterAnother step in Jets purge: WR Decker releasedBy DENNIS WASZAK Jr.NEW YORK (AP) The New York Jets have released wide receiver Eric Decker, six days after saying they would do so if they couldn't work out a trade.The announcement Monday officially ends Decker's tenure with the...

Panthers use franchise tag on DT Short; re-sign DE HortonCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Panthers have applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to defensive tackle Kawann Short and re-signed defensive end Wes Horton to a two-year contract.Short would make an estimated $14.77 million if he signs the one-year tender.A four-year...

Prosecutors appeal Hernandez's voided murder convictionBOSTON (AP) Massachusetts prosecutors on Friday appealed a court ruling that erased former NFL star Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction in the 2013 killing of a semi-professional football player.Hernandez's conviction in the fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd was voided after the former New England...

Chip Kelly: 49ers need to keep fighting amid losing streakSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Chip Kelly is facing the unenviable task of getting his team ready for its next game to stop the worst losing streak in franchise history.Kelly's 49ers have lost 12 straight , with the last two...

Redskins hire Torrian Gray from U of Florida as DBs coachASHBURN, Va. (AP) Torrian Gray is the new defensive backs coach for the Washington Redskins.The team announced his hiring on Wednesday.Gray spent last season as the University of Florida's defensive backs coach; the school announced last week that...

AP Pro Football WriterBroncos trade for Patriots backup tight end DerbyBy ARNIE STAPLETONENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) The Denver Broncos traded a 2017 fifth-round pick to the rival New England Patriots in exchange for tight end A.J. Derby.To make room, they released veteran safety Shiloh Keo for the second time...

AP Pro Football WriterHow to sound like an NFL fan while watching the Super BowlBy HOWARD FENDRICHIf you're among the millions of people who watch precisely one NFL game each year, yet want to sound like a real football fan during Sunday's Super Bowl, The Associated Press has you...

AP Sports WriterCowboys pay tribute to Dallas police before start of campBy SCHUYLER DIXONOXNARD, Calif. (AP) The Dallas Cowboys paid tribute to Dallas police and the five officers killed by a gunman with a ceremony before the start of training camp.Dallas players walked arm-in-arm onto the field Saturday...

AP Sports WriterBrowns owners pick up tab to refurbish high school fieldsBy TOM WITHERSCLEVELAND (AP) Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam wouldn't trade the way the club's new front office handled its first NFL draft.After dealing away the No. 2 overall pick and dropping down again in the...

AP Pro Football WriterPre-draft football: Prospects vs. kids at Shriners hospitalBy BARRY WILNERPHILADELPHIA (AP) One day away from discovering where their professional paths will lead, NFL draft prospects gathered for some impromptu football.The site: Shriners Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.The players: patients at the hospital - all of whom...